BMG/The End RecordsJethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has teamed with ex-Tull keyboardist John O’Hara and the Carducci Quartet — an award-winning Anglo-Irish string quartet — to record an album featuring reimagined classical versions of songs by his old band.
Jethro Tull — The String Quartets, which will be released on March 24, includes 12 tracks based on or inspired by such well-known tunes as “Living in the Past,” “Bungle in the Jungle,” “Songs from the Wood,” “Locomotive Breath” and “Aqualung.”
Anderson plays flute on most of the tracks, and also lends vocals to a few songs. The album was arranged and orchestrated by O’Hara.
Each piece has been renamed and combines the melodies of Jethro Tull songs with classical elements. For example, the song inspired by “Aqualung” is called “Aquafugue” and begins with the classic tune’s six-note riff before moving on to follow the musical rules of a fugue. The album also features a piece called “Songs and Horses” that mixes melodic elements of “Songs from the Wood” and “Heavy Horses.”
You can pre-order Jethro Tull — The String Quartets now at PledgeMusic.com.
In other news, Anderson has announced plans for a brief U.S. solo tour, dubbed the Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson tour. It’ll showcase the band’s classic tunes augmented by a multimedia presentation. Ian will be joined by a band that includes various former Tull members: O’Hara, bassist David Goodier, guitarist Florian Opahle and drummer Scott Hammond.
The tour will kick off May 26 with a special performance at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre featuring accompaniment from the Colorado Symphony.
Here are all of Anderson’s confirmed U.S. tour dates:
5/26 — Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5/27 — Albuquerque, NM, Route 66 Casino – Legends Theatre
5/28 — El Paso, TX, Plaza Theatre PAC
5/30 — Sugar Land, TX, Smart Financial Centre
5/31 — Austin, TX, ACL Live at the Moody Theater
6/1 — Durant, OK, Choctaw Casino – Choctaw Grand Theater
And here is the track list for Jethro Tull — The String Quartets:
“In the Past” (“Living in the Past”)
“Sossity Waiting” (“Sossity: You’re a Woman”/”Reasons for Waiting”)
“Bungle” (“Bungle in the Jungle”)
“We Used to Bach” (“We Used to Know”/”Bach Prelude C Major”)
“Farm, the Fourway (“Farm on the Freeway”)
“Songs and Horses” (“Songs from the Wood”/”Heavy Horses”)
“Only the Giving” (“Wond’ring Aloud”)
“Loco” (“Locomotive Breath”)
“Pass the Bottle” (“A Christmas Song”)
“Velvet Gold” (“Velvet Green”)
“Ring Out These Bells” (“Ring Out, Solstice Bells”)
“Aquafugue” (“Aqualung”)
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